PRINCE Alfred College (PAC) defeated Henley High 10.9 (69) to 8.6 (54) on Tuesday, earning victory in the 2020 All Schools Cup Grand Final at Thebarton Oval. Our scout, Ed Pascoe was on hand to put together scouting notes on the outstanding players, with plenty of 2020 and 2021 AFL Draft prospects among them.

Henley:

#12 Bailey Chamberlain

The speedy Chamberlain spent his time playing through the midfield and in defence as a rebounder and arguably did his best work behind the ball, using his speed and dare to create. He would balance this late in the second quarter with some steady play, taking marks and keeping composed to hit his short targets by foot. Chamberlain has spent most of his time with West Adelaide as a midfielder, but his time with Henley has showed he has a bit more versatility to his game while also still winning plenty of the ball as he had another 20-plus disposals.

#29 Jase Burgoyne

The talented son of a gun isn’t eligible to be drafted until 2021, but he has had an outstanding bottom-age year. His form continued again for Henley, waxing with Chamberlain through the midfield and off half-back where he was classy as ever, showing plenty of skill and flair. Burgoyne was a classy customer all day with clean hands and slick movement through traffic; his best bit of play came in the second quarter, laying a strong tackle and quickly getting up in the blink of an eye to cleanly gather the ball and quickly dart away, flicking out a one-two handball and long kick to finish it off. Another nice bit of play came in the third quarter with another clean pickup and quick handball to Taj Schofield, which would set up a goal. Burgoyne has showed a good balance between his attacking and defensive game and he certainly looks a player to watch for next year.

#66 Tariek Newchurch

The Adelaide Crows NGA prospect has been an excitement machine this year and that continued again for Henley. It didn’t take long for him to show off his talent with a scintillating first quarter. He set the crowd alight with the goal of the day, selling candy in the midfield and then taking a few bounces, getting the one-two before slotting the running goal from 45-metres out. He wasn’t as damaging for the remaining quarters, but he did well to keep involved and try to create with little tap ons and some bursts of speed on the wing. He had another great bit of play in the last quarter, laying a great tackle and then quickly playing on to set up a timely Henley goal. Newchurch only kicked the one major and almost kicked a few more, but he always looked dangerous.

#68 Taj Schofield

Another Port Adelaide father-son but for this year’s draft, Schofield didn’t take long to show his class, slotting and amazing goal tight on the boundary. Despite that, he was struggling with the pace of the game early, getting caught a few times, but this would change as the game went on. He showed great composure with ball in hand all day, rarely panicking and always taking his time to make the right decision to usually execute by hand and foot. His second goal was almost as good, if not better than his first, showing great movement and composure to get out of trouble and slot a classy goal on the run in the third quarter. He did the team things well in the last quarter with some great tackles, with one being rewarded by the umpires and he couldn’t have done much more to try and gets his side over the line.

#80 Caleb Poulter

Poulter was a force all day for Henley, with the tall midfielder continuing his fine form this year with a dominant midfield display that again re-affirmed his draft stocks. What really impressed was his four-quarter consistency which hasn’t quite been a factor in his game as his ability forward of centre takes him away from the midfield in a lot of games. He did well to push behind the ball multiple times to take intercept marks, but also pushed hard offensively to set up and get on the end of attacking chains with plenty of shots from 50-metres out on his booming left-foot. He only kicked the one goal from his numerous shots but it was a pearler, gathering the loose ball cleanly and quickly getting ball to boot from outside 50, with the luck of the bounce seeing the ball make it through for a goal. Poulter would have had around 30 disposals for the day and if Henley had won, would have been a big shot at winning best afield honours.

PAC:

#18 Harry McInnes

The ever-dangerous McInnes just keeps finding the goals week after week. The talented bottom-ager plays the full forward role despite being a bit undersized at this stage. He is a natural forward and knows where to lead and where the goals are. He took numerous strong contested marks during the game and his best came in the third quarter where he also drew the 25-metre penalty, which showed his smarts and natural forward nous. His kicking at goal was a bit shaky and he could have really had a huge game if he was more accurate. The left-footer is building well into his draft year next year, finishing the game with three goals and plenty of behinds to go with it.

#27 Will Charlton

Not his most productive game, but Charlton is a great draft prospect for next year playing as a rebounding, medium-sized defender who has a great mix of defensive traits and attacking flair. His kicking wasn’t as assured as usual, but his intent and ability to intercept or spoil was very strong and I can certainly see him being a leading rebounding option for his side next year. He should do well for Norwood and perhaps have a part in the Redlegs’ finals tilt later this year.

#33 Declan Hortle

The big-bodied ruckman, who is not draft eligible until next year really gave it to one of the leading ruckman from SA this year in Zac Phillips, and he may have gotten the better of him too. The Sturt bigman was very competitive in the ruck, giving up some height but certainly making use of his strong body and smarts around the stoppages. He used the ball well for a his size and wasn’t afraid to tackle hard and really scrap along with his smaller midfielders, who worked well with him. Hortle would kick the sealer with a goal on the run in the last quarter showing good mobility and skill for his size, and he was certainly one of PAC’s most influential players in their grand final win.

#34 Harry Tunkin

Arguably best on ground along with eventual winner James Borlase, the hard working Glenelg bottom-ager was a consistent four-quarter performer through the midfield, winning plenty of the ball at the coalface while also getting on the outside – using his smarts and work-rate. Tunkin also hit the scoreboard with a nice dribble goal in the first quarter, and a nice set shot goal from a free kick in the last quarter. Tunkin was a force offensively and just as much as he was defensively, with the nuggety on-baller tackling with intent and working hard to provide an outlet in defence. Tunkin had the ball on a string winning 20-plus disposals as he looks to build into his draft year in 2021. He has certainly shown to be a consistent and hard working player these last two years.

#44 James Borlase

A worthy winner for best on ground, the talented Crows NGA prospect missed out on father-son qualifications for Port Adelaide and it would frustrate those supporters seeing Borlase playing so well this year. Borlase has had a strong year, earning a senior game for Sturt and also being a strong contributor for PAC, where he has played forward and back. But it was down back where he dominated on this occasion, with his impressive ability to take intercept marks. Borlase was a wall for PAC and he would have had around 10 intercept marks for the game as he read the ball better than anybody and he had the frame to stand strong and take them cleanly. He also did well on the rebound and despite not being super quick, he still moved the ball on in a timely fashion and often used it well by hand and foot. His second quarter in particular was massive, taking five marks with just about every one of them impressive or contested in some way. His composure and sure hands really helped PAC steady the ship whenever Henley came charging through the middle, and his influence made him a clear choice for best on ground in the end, with Tunkin another strong performer for PAC.

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Featured Image: PAC players celebrate their Grand Final triumph | Credit: Mark Brake/The Advertiser